Sold by Patricia McCormick

 

GoodReads Summary:

Lakshmi is a thirteen-year-old girl who lives with her family in a small hut on a mountain in Nepal. Though she is desperately poor, her life is full of simple pleasures, like playing hopscotch with her best friend from school, and having her mother brush her hair by the light of an oil lamp. But when the harsh Himalayan monsoons wash away all that remains of the family’s crops, Lakshmi’s stepfather says she must leave home and take a job to support her family.

He introduces her to a glamorous stranger who tells her she will find her a job as a maid in the city. Glad to be able to help, Lakshmi journeys to India and arrives at “Happiness House” full of hope. But she soon learns the unthinkable truth: she has been sold into prostitution....

Review:

 This book is a complete stunner and truthfully I have nothing bad to say. This means my review will be short and sweet, because if it wasn't I would rave on and on about how absolutely amazing this story is.

Lakshmi's character is wise beyond her years and sees life as a beautiful tapestry spread out before her. When she is sold into prostitution the tapestry is stained and torn and burned; there is no beauty left in life. As a 13 and 14 year old she comes to grips with things ages old cannot fathom. She finds small outlets of hope even in the most godforsaken situation: she learns wonderful English words, finds solace in the company of the other girls of the brothel, and refuses to have her light put out.

The writing is, without question, breathtaking. The whole story being told in poetry only emphasizes Lakshmi's point of view and allows the plot to be laid out in a way that isn't overwhelming. There is no end to how much I loved reading this; in fact, I started it and completed it in the same day. There is so much beautiful description and phraseology, but at the same time, the text keeps its dignity by explaining life simply.

Over all, I would recommend this novel to anyone and everyone. If you want something completely mesmerizing and enthralling then snatch this off the shelf. And although it may seem like it will be depressing, a total downer, there is a content ending. It's not a fairy-tale ending, of course, but you will feel happy for Lakshmi all the same.

Life As We Knew It by Susan B. Pfeffer

 

 GoodReads Summary:

Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.

Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world.

Review:

I picked up this book because I have recently become fascinated with outer space and apocalyptic type scenarios. I am not really fascinated by the death involved, more of the cause and effect. I was surprised to find out that the world does not end in this book, at least I had the impression it would based off the back cover. 

This is told through the perspective of just a normal person, Miranda, a junior in high school who leads a completely normal life. I think that the fact that the author chose this character to be narrating was very interesting, because in many scenarios I could easily imagine myself in the situations she was in.

However, I found Miranda's character inherently immature. There were a lot of situations which, I hope, someone my age or older would have handled better than she did. There was a lot of "unfair" thrown into her narrative and yeah, I get it- the world is in turmoil, being racked by natural disaster. But that doesn't justify a sixteen year old whining about soup. In fact, the only character I truly saw mature was Jonny, Miranda's little brother.

Additionally, I felt that the normalcy of the character's lives subtracted from the plot. There was next to no action, nothing to keep me hooked. And again, I get it- the way this book was written is supposed to be realistic. But at the same time, there could have been something to spice up the story line. The only time things got interesting happened probably three-quarters of the way through the book.

Over all, I didn't hate it, but I had higher expectations. I enjoyed the general theme, but aspects of the book were just lacking for me. I would recommend this for people who enjoy slow moving, realistic scenarios. Nothing flashy, just reality.